Coin tube



April 1966 c. w. BEAMAN ETAL 3,244,272

COIN TUBE Filed Sept. 16, 1963 Aim. 4. 30

CMQQL ES W BEHMfl/V Mu. ro/v If. GQOSSMHA/ INVENTORS.

United States Patent Ofiice 3,244,272 Patented Apr. 5, 1966 3,244,272 CQlN TUBE Charles W. Beaman, La Mirada, and Milton J. Grossinan, Whittier, Calif., assignors to Nurnis Products, Inc., West Covina, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Sept. 16, 1%3, Ser. No. 309,030 6 Claims. (Cl. 2t)6.82)

The present invention relates to devices employed for the storage and display of coins, and relates more particularly to a novel tubular coin holder of the general type referred to in the coin supply and collecting art as a coin tube, and which is adapted to contain a fixed number of coins of a specified denomination.

Prior art coin tubes have generally been made in the form of a right circular cylinder with a cylindrical body having a closed bottom and a removable cap which is either frictionally or threadedly engaged on the body. Usually the coin tubes were made of a generally rigid, transparent plastic material such as polystyrene. Such conventional prior art coin tubes have several disadvantages. For one thing, being of cylindrical external shape, they were difiicult to display and to store, not being suitable for stacking. When such a prior art coin tube was set down on its cylindrical side, or toppled over onto its side, it was likely to roll, as from the top of a table, and drop. Such .an occurrence has frequently damaged very valuable coins, which are at the present time almost universally stored in such coin tubes by coin suppliers and collectors.

Another problem in the art is that such prior art coin tubes had a cylindrical wall which was relatively thin in order to permit inspection of the coins therein, and in order to give the coin tube suflicient rigidity a substantially rigid transparent plastic material such as polystyrene was required, and such materials were particularly subject to cracking in such a thin walled construction. This would allow air and moisture to enter the cylindrical coin cavity in the tube, which must be sealed in order to preserve the coins against corrosion and oxidation.

In view of these and other problems in the art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel elongated coin tube wherein the tube has a cylindrical bore or cavity therein for receiving the coins, while the exterior of the coin tube is in the shape of an elongated hexahedron, having generally flat, parallel top and bottom faces and having four flat side faces which define a substantially square cross-section. With this construction, the coin tubes can be stacked in any direction for display or storage without danger of toppling or rolling out of position. By providing relatively thin end walls, the faces of the end coins can readily be viewed, and by providing relatively thin side walls where the four flat side faces approach a tangential relationship with the cylindrical inner surface the edges of the coins can be viewed for counting; nevertheless, the thick corner structures provided by the square cross-sectional shape with the round cylindrical bore provide excellent structural strength regardless of the material from which the coin tube is made.

An important aspect of the present invention is the provision of a body portion for receiving the coins and a removable cap portion which is adapted to be either snapped or threadedly engaged over a tubular extension at the top of the body portion, with both the body and cap having a square external cross-sectional shape, the cap having four side faces which come substantially into planar registry with four respective external side faces of the body when the cap is operatively engaged with the body.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a detailed consideration of the following part of the specification taken in conjunction with the figures in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several vews, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is an exploded perspective view of one form of the present invention, illustrating the cap axially separated from the bottom of the coin tube.

FIGURE 2 is a vertical section, with a portion in elevation, illustrating the present invention with the cap operativ'ely engaged with the body of the coin tube.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional View taken along the line 33 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of the body portion of the invention, taken on the line 44 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the cap employed in the form of the invention illustrated in FIGURES 1-4.

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary vertical section illustrating a second form of the invention wherein the cap is threadedly engaged with the body rather than being snapped into engagement as in the form shown in FIGURES 1 through 5.

Referring to the drawings, and at first particularly to FIGURES 1 through 5 thereof, the coin tube 10 which is illustrated in these figures includes an elongated body 12 and a cap 14 which is removably engageable with the body 12.

Referring in detail to the construction of the body 12, and at first to the exterior thereof, it includes a substantially square flat bottom end face 16 which is disposed at substantially a right angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the body 12. Extending upwardly from the fiat bottom end face 16 are four fiat rectangular side faces 18 which are substantially uniform in size and which define a substantially square cross-sectional shape that is uniform in size along the lengths of the four flat side faces 18. Adjacent side faces 18 intersect at respective corners 19, which may be somewhat rounded or beveled if desired.

The four side faces 18 terminate at their upper ends at an upwardly facing fiat shoulder 20 of body 12, shoulder 29 being substantially parallel to the fiat bottom end face 16 An annular collar 22 of right circular cylindrical shape extends upwardly from the shoulder 20 and terminates at an annular upper end surface 24.

A cylindrical bore extends axially through the annular collar 22 and through most of the portion or" body 12 defined within the rectangular side faces 13, terminating at a flat bottom surface 2% which is disposed at substantially a right angle with respect to the axis of the body, bottom surface 28 being disposed a short distance above the flat bottom end face 16 of the body to provide a relatively thin bottom wall 30 of the body.

A plurality of cap engaging lugs 32 project outwardly from the cylindrical external surface of annular collar 22. Preferably, four of these lugs are provided and are circumferentially arranged on the collar 22 proximate the respective four corners 19 where the side faces 18 of the body intersect.

A plurality of coins 34} are shown in FIGURE 2 disposed within the body 12. The cylindrical bore has an extent suitable for receiving a fixed number of coins of a particular denomination, as for example, the same number that is furnished in roll form by banks; While the diameter of the cylindrical bore is slightly larger than the diameter of coins of this denomination so as to provide a relatively close fit of the wall of bore about the peripheries of the coins to limit movement of the coins inthe tube. It is conventional for banks to provide rolls of 50 pennies, nickels, dimes, 4O quarters, 20 halves, and 20 silver dollars, and preferably coin tubes according to the present invention adapted for use with these various coin denominations will accommodate the same number.

The cap 14 includes a substantially flat, square top face 36 which is substantially :parallel to the bottom end face 16 of body 12 when the cap is operatively positioned on the body as shown in FIGURE 2. Cap 14 also includes four flat side faces 38 providing a uniform, substantially square cross section, the side faces 33 meeting at corners 39 and terminating at their lower ends in a bottom surface 449 which is substantially parallel to the top face 36. A cylindrical recess 42 extends upwardly into the cap 14 through the bottom surface 46, and has a diameter which is substantially the same as the external diameter of the annular collar 22. of the body 12. Cylindrical recess 42 terminates at its upper end in a flat inner cap surface 44 which is parallel to the flat top face 36, and the surface 44 and face 36 define a relatively thin top wall 46 through which the face of the uppermost coin can be readily viewed.

A plurality of grooves or depressions 48 are provided in the cylindrical wall of cap recess 42., these grooves or depressions 48 being adapted to mate with the respective lugs 32 on the annular collar 22 of body 12. Thus, in the form of the invention shown in FlG-URES 1 through 5, four of these grooves or depressions 48 are disposed in the cap 14, and are arranged at or proximate the respective corners 39 where the side faces 38 intersect. This is the preferred positioning for the grooves or depressions 48 as there is ample thickness of the cap material at the corners.

The lugs 32 on body 12 and the grooves 48 in cap 14 are relatively positioned so that when the cap 14 is forcibly pushed down over the annular collar 22 of body 12 the lugs 32 will snap into the respective grooves 48, and will lock the cap 14 tightly onto the collar 22, with the annular upper end surface 24 of the collar 22 in tightly sealed engagement against the flat inner cap surface 44. The relative dimensions of the cap and collar 22 are preferably such as to provide a thumbnail clearance between shoulder 29 on the body and bottom surface 40 of the cap to facilitate removal of the cap.

The form of the present invention shown in FIGURES 1 through 5 having the lug and groove snap-on cap construction is preferably made of a somewhat flexible plastic material which has sulficient flexibility and resiliency to permit the required deformation for allowing the lugs 32 to be snapped into the grooves 43. At the same time, it is preferable that the material be transparent or nearly so in order that the coin faces can be viewed through the bottom and top walls 30 and 46, respectively, and so that the peripheral edges of the coins can be seen for counting purposes through the flat side faces 13 of the body and the fiat side faces 38 of the cap. A material which has been found particularly suitable is a relatively clear polyethylene. This material, in addition to having the foregoing desirable characteristics, is chemically practically neutral, and does not exude any corrosive chemicals which might be harmful to the coins, as do certain other plastic materials. The flexibility of polyethylene also assures a good air and moisture-tight seal between the cap and the body. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention is not limited to the use of polyethylene, and that other suitable materials, such as other plastic materials, may be employed in the invention.

While it is important to provide a material for the coin tube which is generally transparent, absolute transparency is not necessary for proper viewing of the contents of the coin tube. Thus, polyethylene will usually have a certain amount of milkiness associated therewith, even in relatively clear grades. Also, if desired, the material from which the coin tube is made may be color tinted.

It will be noted that the four lugs 32 grooves 4-8 are disposed at the corners of and the four the body and cap, respectively, sothat when the lugs .32 are snapped into the respective grooves 48, the fiat side faces 18 of the body and the flat side faces 38 of the cap will be in substantially planar registry. Accordingly, the entire coin tube 10 with the cap assembled on the body will present an exterior which is of hexahedron shape, with generally flat, parallel top and bottom end faces 36 and 16, respectively, and with four flat side faces, each including one of the side body faces 18 and one of the side cap faces 38, the side faces providing a substantially uniform cross-section of square configuration along the length of the tube. Thus, the present coin tube is particularly suitable for stacking, either side to side in any direction, or end to end, or side to end, and there is no danger of the present coin tube rolling and thus falling off of a table or other structure. The relatively thin end walls 30 and 46 provide good visibility of the coin faces, while the peripheral edges of the coins are clearly visible for counting through the relatively thin portions of the walls where the flat side faces 18 of the body and the flat side faces 33 of the cap approach a tangential relationship with the cylindrical bore of the body.

The cap may be removed from the body either by applying an upward force to the cap which is sufficient to uncouple the lugs 32 from the grooves 48, or by rotating the cap relative to the body until the lugs are cir-cumferentially displaced from the grooves and then sliding the cap upwardly off the collar 22.

It has been found that in addition to the excellent stability and stacking characteristics for both storage and display of the hexahedron shape of the present invention, this shape has the added advantage of much better structural strength than prior art coin tubes of cylindrical external shape, while at the same time permitting the desired visibility through the side walls thereof for counting purposes. his improved structural strength results from the fact that the material of both the body and the cap portions is thick proximate the corners 19 of the body and the corners 39 of the cap, whereby a structure having four strong arches is provided. Nevertheless, the flat side faces 13 of the body and side faces 38 of the cap come sufliciently close to the cylindrical bore of the body to permit good side visibility, so that there is no functional sacrifice despite this gain in strength.

FIGURE 6 illustrates a coin tube 52 according to a second form of the invention. Coin tube 52 embodies all of the principal features of the coin tube 10 shown in FIGURES 1 through 5, but employs a threaded engagement between the body and cap. Thus, the body 54 of coin tube 52 has an upwardly projecting collar 56 thereon over which a cap 58 is engageable. One or more threads or lands 66 are provided on the collar 56 and one or more mating grooves 62 are provided in the cap 58. The mating threads or lands dd and grooves 62 are so arranged that when the cap is tightly threadedly engaged over the body in sealing relationship with'the body, the four flat side faces 18a of the body will be in substantially planar registry with the four flat side faces 33:: of the cap, in the same manner that the side faces of the cap and the body register in the embodiment of the coin tube shown in FIGURES 1 through 5.

While a somewhat resilient or flexible plastic material such as polyethylene is satisfactory for the coin tube 52 shown in FIGURE 6, a more rigid plastic material such as polystyrene or Lucite may also be employed in this embodiment of the invention.

While the sealing engagement between the cap and body has been shown in both embodiments of the invention as being between the upper end of the body collar and the flat inner surface of the cap, it is to be understood that alternatively the seal may be provided by as light variation of the proportions between the cap and collar such as to provide sealing engagement between the bottom surface of the cap and the upwardly directed shoulder on the 5 body (cap surface 40 and shoulder 50 in the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 1 through 5).

While the present invention has been shown and described herein in what are conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosed herein, but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims.

Having described our invention what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A coin tube comprising an elongated body having a top, a generally flat bottom end face disposed at substantially a right angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the body, and four generally flat, longitudinally extending side faces defining a substantially square external cross-sectional shape of the body, said body having a coin-receiving bore therein of right circular cylindrical shape extending longitudinally from an open upper end to a closed lower end, a cap having a generally flat top face and four generally fiat side faces disposed substantially at right angles to said top face, said side faces of the cap defining a substantially square external cross-sectional shape of the cap which is substantially the same size as that of the body, and coupling means on the body and cap for removably coupling the cap to the top of the body in substantially air-tight covering relationship over the upper end of the bore, said coupling means being so arranged that in the fully coupled position of the cap on the body said side faces of the cap are substantially coplanar with the respective side faces of the body and said top face of the cap is substantially parallel to said bottom end face of the body, the body and cap being composed of generally transparent plastic material that is impervious to air and moisture and is chemically substantially neutral and non-corrosive to coin metals, the body and cap when coupled having four generally transparent wall portions coextensive with the cylindrical bore and defined between the surface of the bore and the flat side faces of the body and cap where the side faces approach a tangential relationship with the surface of the bore, the peripheral edges of all of the coins within the tube being clearly visible for counting through such wall portions.

2. A coin tube as defined in claim 1 wherein said body and cap define substantially flat lower and upper end walls, respectively, of the coin tube through which faces of the lowermost and uppermost coins in the bore may be viewed.

3. A coin tube as defined in claim 1 wherein said coupling means comprises an annular collar at the top of the body, the collar having an inner Wall defining the upper end portion of said bore in the body, a downwardly opening, generally cylindrical recess in the cap, said collar being engageable within said recess in the cap so that the collar and cap have opposed cylindrical surfaces, one of said cylindrical surfaces having a projection thereon and the other having a recess therein, said projection being engaged within said recess in the fully coupled position of the cap on the body.

4. A coin tube as defined in claim 3 wherein said projection is on the collar and said groove is in the cap.

5. A coin tube as defined in claim 3 wherein said projection comprises a lug, said lug and said groove having abutting ends resisting rotation of the cap on the body in the fully coupled position of the cap on the body.

6. A coin tube as defined in claim 3 wherein said projection and groove comprise thread means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 46,214 2/1865 Cahoon 2l51.26 209,637 11/1878 Whittic 2060.827 2,476,155 7/1949 McKelvy 2l5----1.456

FOREIGN PATENTS Ad. 47,127 10/ 1936 France. 1,142,706 4/1957 France.

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner. LOUIS G MANCENE, Examiner, 

1. A COIN TUBE COMPRISING AN ELONGATED BODY HAVING A TOP, A GENERALLY FLAT BOTTOM END FACE DISPOSED AT A SUBSTANTIALLY A RIGHT ANGLE WITH RESPECT TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE BODY, AND FOUR GENERALLY FLAT, LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING SIDE FACES DEFINING A SUBSTANTIALLY SQUARE EXTERNAL CROSS-SECTIONAL SH APE OF THE BODY, SAID BODY HAVING A COIN-RECEIVING BORE THEREIN OF RIGHT CIRCULAR CYLINDRICAL SHAPE EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY FROM AN OPEN UPPER END TO A CLOSED LOWER END, A CAP HAVING A GENERALLY FLAT TOP FACE AND FOUR GENERALLY FLAT SIDE FACES DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY AT RIGHT ANGLES TO SAID TOP FACE, SAID SIDE FACES OF THE CAP DEFINING A SUBSTANTIALLY SQUARE EXTERNAL CROSS-SECTIONAL SHAPE OF THE CAP WHICH IS SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME SIZE AS THAT OF THE BODY, AND COUPLING MEANS ON THE BODY AND CAP FOR REMOVABLY COUPLING THE CAP TO THE TOP OF THE BODY IN SUBSTANTIALLY AIR-TIGHT COVERING RELATIONSHIP OVER THE UPPER END OF THE BORE, SAID COUPLING MEANS BEING SO ARRANGED THAT IN THE FULLY COUPLED POSITION OF THE CAP ON THE BODY SAID SIDE FACES OF THE CAP ARE SUBSTANTIALLY COPLANAR WITH THE RESPECTIVE SIDE FACES OF THE BODY AND SAID TOP FACE OF THE CAP IS SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID BOTTOM END FACE OF THE BODY, THE BODY AND CAP BEING COMPOSED OF GENERALLY TRANSPARENT PLASTIC MATERIAL THAT IS IMPERVIOUS TO AIR AND MOISTURE AND IS CHEMICALLY SUBSTANTIALLY NEUTRAL AND NON-CORROSIVE TO COIN METALS, THE BODY AND CAP WHEN COUPLED HAVING FOUR GENERALLY TRANSPARENT WALL PORTIONS COEXTENSIVE WITH THE CYLINDRICAL BORE AND DEFINED BETWEEN THE SURFACE OF THE BORE AND THE FLAT SIDE FACES OF THE BODY AND CAP WHERE THE SIDE FACES APPROACH A TANGENTIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SURFACES OF THE BORE, THE PERIPHERAL EDGES OF ALL OF THE COINS WITHIN THE TUBE BEING CLEARLY VISIBLE FOR COUNTING THROUGH SUCH WALL PORTIONS. 